The back-end of the Swedish nuclear fuel cycle

The Swedish nuclear programme is now perhaps better defined than that of most other countries as a result of developments in Sweden over the last few years. The Parliamentary guidelines for future nuclear policy state that a 12-reactor programme should be fulfilled and that the reactors should operate up to the year 2010, which means a 25-year operating period for the reactor last commissioned. A Parliamentary commission has also been appointed to suggest ways of closing down the nuclear reactors and creating alternative sources of electricity production. The above situation for the Swedish programme constitutes a comparatively solid basis for future planning of the back-end of the nuclear fuel cycle and of the disposal of nuclear waste. It is now legally established that the holder of a concession for a nuclear power plant carries full responsibility (technical and financial) for the nuclear waste he generates. Above that, the Swedish State carries the overall responsibility. It is stipulated that before the owner of a nuclear reactor will be allowed to load his reactor for the first time with fresh fuel he must show either that he has a satisfactory reprocessing agreement and is able to dispose of the high-level-activity waste in a completely safe way, or that he is able to dispose directly of the spent fuel in a completely safe way